Hydra Grenade Launcher
The M406 "Hydra" Grenade Launcher is a weapon from Unreal II: The Awakening. __TOC__ Overview The Grenade Launcher is a versatile grenade delivery system. Pressing the fire button lobs a grenade in the direction you're aiming. The higher you aim, the greater the arc and the greater the range. Normally the grenades (regardless of type) explode on impact. However, if you hold the trigger down before you release it, a timing mechanism is engaged and the grenade bounces a couple of times before it explodes. A direct hit scores the most damage on your target, but a near miss causes proximity damage. At the beginning of the game Dalton only has access to explosive fragmentation grenades, but he will collect the other types along the way. Regular fire launches the currently loaded grenade, whose explosion can be delayed by holding the trigger for a short while. Alternate fire cycles through grenade types. In XMP the Hydra works a little bit differently in that the different classes carry simplified versions of the weapon that can only launch two grenade types. Regular and alternate fire are dedicated to these two types. The Ranger has access to the Frag and Smoke types, the Tech has EMP and toxic, and the Gunner has Incendiary and Concussion. Six grenade types are available (though seldom all in the same mission): Fragmentation grenade This type of grenades is the usual one. When fired, it explodes with a quite impressive blast radius. Does up to 200 points of damage. This is the most common type of grenades and you will usually have a lot of these. This is the most common grenade type available. Incendiary grenade One of the commonly used grenade types, Incendiary grenades will disorient enemies and deal more damage than Fragmentation grenades. EMP grenade It shuts down Plasma Field Generators with a single shot and is also effective against Auto Turrets. Also heavily damages power suits. Larger systems aren't usually affected. Concussion grenade This grenade can be used to send enemies somewhere far, far away. Smoke grenade Toxic grenade This type of grenades creates a cloud of gas that drains the health from anyone in the area. It is potentially the strongest type of grenades. Tips and tricks * The most obvious trick is to learn when and where to use each grenade: ** Frag grenades are meant for general use. ** EMP grenades are very effective against deployables (Plasma Field Generators, Auto Turrets) and other electrical systems such as Drakk. ** Smoke grenades are not effective against bots, but very effective against humans and will hide the player in XMP matches. ** Toxic grenades are deadly against light targets and effective against other biological threats, though it has limited effectiveness on mechanical targets. It's useful in small rooms or slow enemies. Be careful not to fall in yourself. * The Concussion Grenade is famous for "concussion jumps": as it does almost no damage, but the shockwave throws people into the air, you can use the grenade against yourself and jump further than you could normally. Trivia * The M406 Hydra, is named after the many-headed Lernaean Hydra due to its ability to use multiple 40mm grenade types. * Due to the interesting coincidence, the short name of the Fragmentation Grenades (Frag) is the same as the name of a kill. Gallery Hydra_unreal2.jpg External links and references See also * UMS Grenade Launcher - from Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali * Grenade Launcher (UT2004) * Grenade Launcher (UT4)